The myth of “high-falutin” copy

I have dealt with this complaint before, but it comes up every now and then, and recently, I heard it from a new client who wanted to sell Web services to marketing managers at Fortune 500 and middle market corporations.

“This copy is too simple,” the client said. “This sounds as if you are talking to small business owners. Our audience is senior managers at Fortune 500 companies. The tone needs to be much more professional and sophisticated.”

Oh, really? Says who?

One of the biggest misconceptions about writing to CEOs, CFOs, and other senior executives is that they speak some alien language that has only a passing resemblance to the conversational or written English you and I use every day … and that, to sell to this special audience, you have to emulate or copy this special language.

But the reality is: C-level executives put their pants on one leg at a time just like everyone else. They read the same newspapers you do … go t...(register to read more)

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